E.K was a 35 year old female, 1 year postpartum with her 1st child with significant pelvic, hip and low back pain. E.R. described a very difficult and traumatic labor and delivery which resulted in long hours of pushing and some damage to her pelvic floor muscles. She had tried numerous therapies since her child’s birth but she was still having a lot of pain. Sitting, standing, playing with her child were all painful. She wasn’t able to be intimate with her partner or able to return to work. She wondered how she could carry another pregnancy considering the extent of her pain.
We created a space of love and compassion to discuss her history and trauma and how extensively her pain had affected all areas of her life. This was important in order to examine her with care and compassion – by giving lots of ongoing education, requesting consent for various components of the exam and allowing her space to emote. Her examination found a lot of tightness and scar tissue throughout her pelvic floor muscles. These muscles were having a lot of difficulty fully relaxing and further fueling her pain.
She had PT 1x/wk for 14 weeks where we focused on treatment techniques to help relax her pelvic floor muscles, breath more efficiently and re-establish some strength gently to the appropriate muscles. I worked closely with her referring doctor to discuss supplemental treatments like hormonal therapies in conjunction with continued PT.
After 14 weeks, she reported a significant reduction in pain and had returned to work on a part time basis. She was able to enjoy intimacy with her partner with much less pain, and the thought of having another child in the future was not as scary. Please read her testimonial here for more detail.
